Tomsk

Siberian university city on the Tom River, known for its ornate wooden houses.

Tomsk is one of Siberia's oldest and most attractive cities, founded in 1604 as a fortress on the Tom River. Unlike most Siberian cities, which were rebuilt in Soviet concrete, Tomsk preserved a remarkable collection of wooden houses — ornately carved, painted in faded pastels, and leaning slightly with age. The wooden architecture alone makes it worth a detour.

The city is a major university centre. Tomsk State University, founded in 1878, was the first university in Siberia, and the student population gives the city a livelier, younger feel than you might expect this deep into Russia. The campus grounds are pleasant for a walk, and the university's botanical garden is one of the oldest in Siberia.

The Resurrection Hill area offers good views over the river and the old town, with the Tom River embankment below providing a pleasant walk. The Regional Museum gives an excellent grounding in the region's history before you explore the streets. An unexpected highlight is the Church of the Intercession — a full Catholic church built by Polish exiles in 1900, one of the oldest Catholic churches in Western Siberia. In winter, Tomsk is genuinely cold — minus 30°C is not unusual — but the snow-covered wooden houses are beautiful. Summer is brief and warm, and the best time to visit.

Guide

Books

Tomsk and Siberia more broadly have generated a rich literature of exile, exploration, and survival. A few books that help make sense of the place:

The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky — Dostoevsky spent four years in a Siberian prison camp in nearby Omsk and wrote this fictionalized account of the experience. It is not specifically about Tomsk but gives the essential feel of what Siberian exile meant. A masterpiece.

Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov — Short stories about life in the Stalinist labor camps of far eastern Siberia. Shalamov spent seventeen years in Kolyma and wrote with a spare, unsparing precision that Dostoevsky could not have imagined. Not cheerful reading, but indispensable for understanding what happened in Siberia in the 20th century.

In Siberia by Colin Thubron — Thubron's account of a journey through Siberia in the late 1990s, including Tomsk. Beautifully written and deeply melancholy, it captures the post-Soviet Siberian mood with great precision. The chapters on Tomsk are particularly good on the wooden architecture and the university city's peculiar character.

Guide

Getting Around

Tomsk is walkable in its historic centre. The wooden architecture district, Resurrection Hill, the university quarter, and the main Lenin Square are all within comfortable walking distance of each other. The city is flat enough that there are no real hills to contend with beyond the climb to Resurrection Hill itself.

The city has trams, trolleybuses, and buses covering the wider urban area, all running on the standard Russian flat-fare system. Taxis are cheap by Western standards and widely available — in practice most visitors use taxis or rideshare apps (Yandex.Taxi works well in Tomsk) for any journey beyond the historic core.

In winter, walking requires proper footwear — the pavements are icy and snow-covered for months. Snow boots with grip are essential. The cold itself is manageable if you are dressed for it: multiple layers, a proper coat, hat, gloves, and warm boots. The wooden architecture is best explored by walking, so prepare accordingly.

Guide

Getting There

Tomsk is not on the main Trans-Siberian Railway line, which passes through Novosibirsk to the west. The city has its own branch line connection from Taiga station (about 80 km away on the mainline), with trains to Novosibirsk (6–7 hours) and beyond. The journey from Moscow by train takes roughly 2–2.5 days.

By air is the practical choice for most visitors. Bogashevo Airport (TOF) is about 20 km south of the city and receives flights from Moscow (Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo), St. Petersburg, and several other Russian cities. Flight time from Moscow is around 3.5 hours. Taxis from the airport to the centre take about 30–40 minutes.

By bus, services connect Tomsk to Novosibirsk (4–5 hours) and other Siberian cities. The bus station is near the railway station on the south side of the city centre. From Novosibirsk, Tomsk is a manageable day trip or easy overnight.

Most international visitors will transit through Moscow or Novosibirsk. A Siberia railway ticket ending at Novosibirsk allows an easy detour to Tomsk before returning to the mainline.

Guide

Things to Do

Tomsk's main draw is its remarkable collection of ornate wooden houses — a tradition of elaborate carved decoration unique in Siberia. Beyond the architecture, the city has a strong university culture, a handful of good museums, and a lovely riverside setting on the Tom.

Guide

When to Go

Tomsk has a sharply continental climate. Winters are long and genuinely cold — January averages around -17°C, and temperatures below -30°C are not unusual. The city is beautiful under snow, with the carved wooden houses covered in white, but travel is hard and daylight is limited to a few hours.

Summer (June to August) is the best time to visit. Temperatures reach 20–25°C, the birch forests around the city are green, and the Tom River is pleasant to walk along. June and July are warm and have long days. August can bring sudden storms.

Spring (April to May) is wet and muddy as the snow melts. Roads in the outskirts become difficult. Autumn (September to October) is brief but often beautiful — clear skies and golden birch leaves before the cold returns. October brings the first frosts.

The Siberian Student Festival (Universiadny Gorodok) and various student events happen in spring and early summer, giving the city an animated feel. Winter offers the experience of genuine Siberian cold, which has its own particular appeal if you are prepared for it.